Hazelwood announces tungsten resource for Mount Mulgine
By: Esmarie Swanepoel 1st March 2011 Updated 2 hours 6 minutes ago TEXT SIZE PERTH (miningweekly.com) − ASX-listed explorer Hazelwood Resources has declared a maiden tungsten mineral resource estimate of 8,2-million tons, grading 0,21% tungsten for its Mount Mulgine Hill deposit, in Western Australia.
The Mount Mulgine Hill resource boosted Hazelwood?s total tungsten inventory by 67%.
"We have an expanding tungsten resource base in near surface deposits," MD Terry Butler-Blaxell said on Tuesday.
The Mulgine Hill deposit is one of two known tungsten occurrences at the Mount Mulgine project, which is being considered as another potential source of feedstock for Hazelwood's majority owned ATC ferrotungsten project, in Vietnam.
Hazelwood is also the owner of the Big Hill tungsten deposit, in Western Australia, which passed through a prefeasibility study in 2010.
"Big Hill has demonstrated the ability to make feedstock of exceptional purity, which will enhance the quality of our final product. With the new resource at Mulgine Hill, we can look at the possibility of extending our supply chain for several decades," said Butler-Blaxell.
He noted that scoping studies and confirmatory drilling for the Mulgine Hill deposit have now been proposed, and data validation was already in progress for the Trench deposit.
Meanwhile, Butler-Blaxell noted that the mechanical and electrical installations were in progress at the ATC project. Commissioning is set to start in the current quarter, with first metal production expected shortly afterwards.
"We aim to bring our Big Hill deposit on line by 2013, to complete our vertical integration and improve the security and quality of feedstock," he added.
In the interim, Hazelwood would start production of ferrotungsten and establish its brand in the market.
At full capacity, the Vietnam plant would be the largest producer of ferrotungsten outside China, and capable of meeting about one quarter of the global demand for the product.
The initial production capacity during stage one is about two-million kilograms a year of contained tungsten, in the form of 80% grade ferrotungsten. The company also had plans to increase the yearly output to about 4,8-million kilograms during 2012, subject to permitting and approvals.
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